It is impossible to please everyone in life and sometimes in death. When a loved one passes away who had a will, it is common for some beneficiaries to be disappointed about its provisions. Maybe someone thought they would get more from the estate or was left out of the will. While these feelings are understandable, more is required to contest a will in Illinois than simply bitter feelings.
Learn about how a will can be contested in this article, and if you have detailed questions, our Arlington Heights estate planning attorneys at Orlowsky & Wilson can answer them. Spending just a few hours with a skilled estate planning attorney can save you thousands in taxes, estate taxes, and administrative costs.
The first question about contesting a will is whether the individual has legal standing. Illinois law states only ‘interested persons’ may contest a will. These individuals or entities would typically have a financial benefit if the will was put aside. An interested person could also be a beneficiary under a previous will or one that would inherit from the deceased according to intestate succession laws if there was no will. The will contest must occur within six months of its admission into probate court.
Assuming you have standing to challenge the will, only a few specific reasons constitute a valid challenge. They are:
The person who directed, prepared, and executed the will in Illinois must have the mental capacity to understand what was in the document. The person must have known the extent and nature of what they owned and understand to whom the assets would be distributed.
Proving a lack of capacity requires more than simply illustrating that the decedent had a fading memory. You must show convincing medical evidence that the person had dementia, Alzheimer’s, psychosis, or other severe mental conditions.
If a beneficiary acting in their interest placed undue pressure on the decedent to enjoy preferential treatment in the will, the probate court could set the will aside. Showing undue influence means proving that the person had such influence over the deceased that they would inherit substantial assets in the will.
If a person lied or deceived the deceased into providing assets for specific beneficiaries, fraud could lead to the will being set aside. For instance, if your brother told your mother that you had committed a crime, so you should not be in the will, this could constitute fraud.
A will can also be put aside if it was not the deceased’s will. To prove forgery to invalidate the will, you must show that witnesses to the will cannot be believed, the deceased could not have been present when they supposedly signed the will, and the will was not signed in the deceased’s handwriting.
The financial well-being of your family is vital, and if you want to disperse your assets to those you love, you need a skilled trust and estate planning lawyer. If you need assistance setting up a trust, our Arlington Heights estate planning attorneys at Orlowsky & Wilson can assist. Please call us at (847) 325-5559 to schedule a consultation about your will and related estate planning matters.
